There are no tips about photographing the moon in this post other than to say there is a wealth of information on Pinterest (please check out my photography Pinterest board) and Youtube on how to do it. I will say that a tripod and a long lens do help immensely and if there are clouds a lot of patience will help as you wait for them to move and the moon to appear.
I’ve read where some photographers feel that once you’ve photographed the moon – that is the moon all by itself – you’ve photographed it. After all, the moon hasn’t changed in a very long time now has it? Your image becomes visually more appealing, in my opinion, when your shot has other elements in it besides just the moon in a dark sky.
A blood moon (wished it hadn’t been so cloudy I was so ready for that) or a moon rising over an iconic landmark, beach or mountain range for example; those make for more than the typical moon shot. Then again if you are good at compositing an image you can create a really unique photo that way but in my case, even though I did eventually get a clear shot of the super moon, I found that I really liked the look of the photos where the moon was playing hard to get with me behind the clouds. To me they added more of a mood to the photo.
After missing quite a few shots because the wind was blowing and the clouds were moving fast, I noticed what direction the moon was moving in and the location of some spaces in the clouds. With that in hand I focused on where I believed the moon would pop through next and waited until it did to take the shot.
What do you think about moon photography? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Teri 📷
In the first photo the moon was almost completely free of the clouds and then, in the second photo, the clouds were beginning to cover it again.
Images by T.Dashfield Photography 
Thank you for sharing your insight. I had the same problem with wind and a bunch of clouds. I was out in the cold (with a tumbler of coffee) for about an hour and a half! Shot the moon 61 times (no joke) and only liked 2 of those shots! What was I thinking?? LOL!
It was cold believe me and I did 145 shots and only liked a handful but that is how photography goes 🙂
Lovely post, Teri. I did not try to photograph the supermoon, but I really enjoy yours. Both are very good!
Thank you so much and excuse my other reply. I hadn’t read this one yet.